Hush Little Child
by Phoenix's Moon
Summary: Loke's first owner was a man of many magics, located smack-dab in the center of the Earthren world. He knows that the man's dead now and Lucy's his new owner, but sudden flashbacks began to convince Loke differently. *A story of Loke's childhood and a bit past that.* AS OF 10/15/13: NO PAIRINGS
1. Chapter 1

Hush Little Child  
Fairy Tale_Harry Potter  
"Loke's first owner was a man of many magics, located smack-dab in the center of the Earthren world. He knows that the man's dead now and Lucy's his new owner, but sudden flashbacks began to convince Loke differently."

Disclaimer: Has Natsu kissed anyone yet? No?

This idea hit me. I wrote said idea. This idea evolved. This story is a result. I'm not sure if I should continue or not, so PLEASE GIVE ME YOUR ADVICE! None of my stores have been popular with readers in the past and I'm not sure why. So give me what you think of this!

I also want to know what pairing I should write in- or if there should be any at all, so also telling me that may help. ^^'

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Prologue

"Mage?" Loke cried out in a panicked tone as he tore through the piles of rubble. "MAGE?"

Once upon a time, a grand castle had stood in the very place Loke was searching now. It had been full of magic and all sorts of people, constantly abuzz with excitement and cheer.

The castle was run by a woman named McGonagall, who was stern in her teaching and her beliefs. She had been growing old though, and was looking for a successor to take her position as head master, so she had contacted Loke's master in hopes that he would accept.

His master had stared at the wax-sealed envelope and had struck up a debate with Loke is he should go or not. It wasn't exactly a debate, per say, but Loke trying to convince his master that he didn't know this person.

"She was one of my teachers." his master had simply replied.

Loke didn't know much about the "Harry" portion of his master's life and he didn't exactly want to know either. From what he had gathered, his master had not lived a pleasant life before he had become a mage.

A mage was a very different thing from a wizard, but the concepts that separated them got very confusing very fast. The easiest way to divide the two was to remember that a mage didn't use a wand, though they might use magical items, and that a wizard relied on a wand. Mages were also diverse in the types of magic they used; wizards only had light and dark magic, with a grey magic if you counted some of the spell that bordered both dark and light.

"WHERE ARE YOU!" Loke shouted as he sprinted towards the closest pile of rocks. 'Please let Mage be under this one,' he mentally pleaded with the gods.

Loke's tinted glasses crashed to the ground as he stumbled across a rock in exhaustion. Creating his own gate was difficult under the circumstances and was quickly wearing him down; he had been seriously injured the last time his master had called him out, and his master couldn't sustain a gate for him.

Loke trembled one last time and fell to the ground, turning into a golden key, imprinted with a red zodiac sign.

'Mage…'

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Fifty Years Later

Loke sat at the bar counter, taking another sip of the beer that Mira supplied him with. He sighed and stared at the wood grain of the counter itself, mentally charting the path of the grains.

Mage taught him to do that.

The sudden thought struck him out of the blue, yanking him into memories that he had tried to submerse under more recent moments.

_"Loke," his master said calmly. He was a tall man, consisting of a head of black hair, piercing green eyes, a muscular build, and the quickest reflexes any man had ever seen. "Why are you just sitting there?"_

_Loke's master often treated the spirit as an actual person, respecting him and giving him whatever he desired. Because of this equality that his master-"Call me Mage; it seems better- don't you agree?"- had endowed upon Loke, he was often let of his key to romp about freely. _

_Not that he did any romping. He was too manly to romp. It was more of a "stay close to Mage" than a romp anyhow._

_They had just cleaned up another quest, taking down some nasty little demons all the way in Desierto. Loke had detested how the sand got in his hair, staining his golden spike with fleck of brown._

_Mage's black crow's nest seemed to be hardly affected. Loke was envious of the epitome of perfect it was all the time; he'd willingly admit it._

_"Because." Loke stated, as if it answered everything. _

_"At least observe the table," Loke's master said, downing another glass of beer._

_His master was always to be found with some sort of spirit in his hands, whether the alcoholic or celestial type._

_Loke looked at his master in confusion. "Why would I do that?" He asked._

_Loke's master sighed, as if the answer was obvious. "The wood grain has lines everywhere- just like magic. If you can trace where the wood grain lines are coming from, then you can track where a source of magic is coming from."_

_The semi-insane reasoning coming out of his master's mouth made no sense, but Loke obeyed. Looking down at the table, he was quickly drawn into chasing the trailing lines across the bar table._

Loke pulled his eyes away from the counter, downing another sip of beer while he was at it. The things that triggered memories of Mage were far and few between, as well as strange- something that he had been learning in more recent times.

Like fish.

Random, he knew, but the reason why something like fish would make him think of Mage was an utter mystery to Loke.

_"Loke!" His master- no, Mage- called out. "Get over here!"_

_Loke panicked from his perch on the rock above, scrambling down to get to Mage. He had been fishing from the granite peak but had no success so far._

_"Now!"_

_Loke gave up on a graceful descent and slid down the face of the rock. "What?" He asked, half in respect, half in annoyance._

_"Look at this fish!" Mage held out a two-foot long carp, its scales glimmering in the early sunlight. Loke sighed._

_At times, Mage could be the most childish person on Earth. A simple flower bouquet could entertain him for hours upon end and bring him endless joy. It wasn't like Loke held it against Mage though; he enjoyed it._

Loke snapped himself out of the flashback by slamming his glass down on the table and storming for the door, ignoring the protests and worried cries of Mirajane.

He couldn't be thinking about his first master now. He had a new one now that he had sworn to protect.

Mage was dead anyhow, so it didn't matter.

Didn't matter at all.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Is Natsu secretly in love with Sting or someone of the likes in the canon universe?

*silence*

I LOVE YOU ALL!

I'm shocked by the positive response I've got so far! When I posted this story, I thought 'Maybe I'll get two reviews and about the same amount of favorites and follows'. Well, you guys did significantly better than that.

1 community, 5 reviews, 32 follows, and 25 favorites! *faints*

Special thanks to SLFangirl16, dragooner, AmeliaPond1997, Hello, and robomonkey. You guys are epic- all of you!

Anyhow, in my hyped state I whipped out this chapter in between writing out other ideas for other stories. I hope you enjoy this chapter!

SIDE NOTE: Currently, this story is heading on a no pairing path or a slash path. PLEASE GIVE YOUR INPUT ON THIS! IT MATTERS!

6/20/13~ dragooner pointed out some mistakes via PM. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR DOING THIS, dragooner!

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The fresh air of outside refreshed Loke, washing all thoughts from his mind. He had always enjoyed the oceanside, whether it was summer or winter.

Come to think of it, Mage did to.

Loke frantically fought off the flashback he knew was coming but his efforts were in vain.

_The first time Loke had been released from his key, it was to the scent of salt water. He child at the time and was young and innocent to the world and the horrors that surrounded it._

_"Master?" was his tentative first word. _

_The man who had held his key and summoned it pulled a sword out and held it to Loke's chest. "Devil," he hissed in anger. "I've already destroyed five of your horcruxes, and all you can say is 'master?'"_

_Loke stared the green-eyed man in the eyes. Weren't they supposed to make a contract now? And then the man was supposed to train him. That's what the Spirit King had told him at the very least and the wise old spirit hadn't steered him wrong before._

_The man, who was still threating to stab Loke, looked at him in confusion. "You are a horcrux, right?"_

_Loke shifted, his ill-fitting black suit tearing a bit as it snagged on the tip of the man's blade. When where they going to make the contract? Was he going to get a name?_

_Yes, he did have a name in the spirit world, but his master was supposed to give him one. All of his friends who had been summoned before said that it helped link master and spirit together. _

_"Can you even understand me?"_

_"Yes." Loke mumbled. He realized that the swab on top of the man's head was hair. The style somewhat resembled his, but in black._

_"ARE YOU A HORCRUX, THEN?" The sword tip tore through Loke's white shirt and scrapped his chest. A small rivulet of blood began to run down his front as the man enlarged his wound._

_"No," Loke quietly said. "I'm a spirit."_

_The man stalled for a moment, withdrawing the sword a bit and giving Loke a curious look. "A spirit. What's that?"_

_Loke had heard that some celestial wizards asked plenty of questions. This man must be one._

_A thought hit him as the meaning of the man's words hit him. He didn't know what a celestial spirit was?_

_That must mean he was a natural mage who had just picked up a random key._

_It wasn't unheard of in the spirit realm, but was a rare occurrence. Of course Loke had been prepared to deal with someone of the sort, but that didn't mean that he wanted to. This man was his master though…_

_"A celestial spirit is the companion and warrior of a celestial or stellar spirit mage." Loke whispered in response. "You are one of these mages, and my master."_

_The man burst into peals of laughter, lowering his sword. Waves crashed in the background as he knelt over, his lean frame bending easily. _

_"You've got it all wrong," the man said as he shifted his weight, causing himself to rock on his bottom. "My name is Harry, and I'm a wizard. The only thing I'm the master of is Dobby and he recently-" The man- now identified as Harry- cut off for a moment, quieting down and halting all movement. "Died."_

_"I am sorry for you loss Master." Loke said matter-of-factly. "Would you like me to cheer you up?"_

_"With what? Sunshine and fairies?" Harry turned sarcastic, his face souring. "That's what everyone else has tried._

_"By naming me and sending me out to avenge his death."_

_"You're a kid!" Harry said in disbelief._

_A wave of annoyance rushed over Loke, and he broke the first law of being a spirit._

_Never talk back to your master, unless they allow you to._

_"I would like to tell you that I am a thousand years old and the leader of the twelve golden spirits. But since I'm a kid…" Loke trailed off, gaining confidence in rebelling against this man._

_Harry summoned him. Harry threatened to kill him. Harry laughed at him._

_Worst of all, Harry mocked him. _

_"Sorry!" Harry said haughtily as he jumped up, hands in the air. "I wasn't aware that I was talking to a prince!"_

_Loke just glared at him._

_"But you did say I was your master and that you needed a name." Harry stated as he lowered his hands. "How about… Loki? You somewhat tricked me and since you're a prince…"_

_"What gives you the right to name me now?" Loke huffed. This man- Harry- already had misused him._

_An evil smile flashed across Loke's face as he realized how much magic of Harry's he must be spending. The man deserved it!_

_"Maybe not Loki… Bad idea to name a being directly after a god. How about Loke? Close enough, unique, sounds cool." Harry went on, ignoring Loke._

_Loke noticed Harry's behavior and blanched. HE WAS BEING IGNORED! HE WAS NOT SUPPOSED TO BE IGNORED! THIS HUMAN DID NOT GRASP WHAT WAS GOING ON!_

_"… Loke works." Loke replied as his childish anger subsided. "Now what days are you going to summon me?"_

_Harry closed one eye and stared at Loke. "Really? What's the use of having a super-special warrior spirit if I can't summon it whenever I want?"_

_"Any day of the week then." Loki began to forcefully shut his gate. "See you later then, Mage."_

_"My name's Harry- and where are you going? Loke? LOKE? THIS IS STILL CONFUSING!" His master's voice trailed off as Loke disappeared. _

A large wave of water startled Loke out of his flashback. "Third in a day." he mumbled, remarking on the sheer number that had taken him away today.

In the past, maybe a single memory would plague him every week, let alone every day. It was now constant event, it seemed.

That wasn't good. It meant that something was happening.

"LOKE!" A voice resounded from behind the spirit. "MIRAJANE SAID THAT SOMETHING WAS WRONG!"

Loke turned around to see Lucy, sprinting across the edges of the river that ran down to the ocean.

That's right.

He had Lucy now.

Not Mage.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Are Natsu and Lucy snogging each other every other scene?

I LOVE YOU ALL! I'M CURRENTLY FANGIRLING IN FRONT OF MY COMPUTER AT YOUR EPICNESS! In other words, I'm staring at both my follow, favorite, view, and review counts right now. THANK ALL OF YOU!

This story will have pairings. I repeat, this story will have pairings. Since I'm writing this story for reader feedback, I thought 'why not let said readers decide?' and there is now a poll on my profile for voting. I ask you to PM me if a choice you want is not in the poll before voting. This helps me a lot!

Before I spend forever ranting, I give you chapter 3!

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"LOKE!" Lucy practically screamed into Loke's ear as she toddled behind him, precariously balancing on the ridge of stones aside the river. He winced at the sound, almost sending himself into the water.

Lucy noticed Loke's reaction and quieted down. "Sorry. I wanted to know if something was wrong."

"Nothing."

Fuzz started to line the outer edges of his vision and Loke almost cursed. He crossed his eyes in hope that the motion would vanquish the uprising flashback. It only resulted in him losing his balance and plummeting into the river with a massive splash.

Something- possibly a brick- knocked against his head and threw Loke into the darkness where the memories roamed.

_Loke stepped out of his gate as Harry summoned him. His childish anger had quickly evaporated during his time in the spirit realm._

_Having his friends around did help with that, even though the perverted cow hadn't done too much towards the cause. He was more inclined to try and crossdress Loke. Needless to say, it hadn't gone off well._

_"Hey!" Harry exclaimed at Loke. "Where did you go?"_

_Harry had summoned him by the water again. Loke found the slow splashing of waves and the slightly salty scent in the air was relaxing. The setting sun was casting long shadows on the ground; playing with the dimensions of the beach and making it seem that much larger._

_Loke tilted his head at Harry, his ear-shaped hair flopping to the side. "The spirit realm. Where else?"_

_Harry looked at him in confusion. "You mentioned it before, but you didn't explain."_

_"I live there with my Nakama."_

_Aries, the youngest of the female spirits, was his favorite surrogate sibling. She was, for a lack of better terms, fluffy. And Taurus said that her fluff was sweet, but Loke didn't know what it meant._

_When asked to clarify, Capricorn had blushed and said it was one of the things that he would learn when he was older. Loke had thought that the goat was amusing at the time, and fallen into fits of laughter. Capricorn? Blushing? That merited amusement, no matter who you were._

_Capri, as he commonly referred to the elder spirit as, was a serious goat man with a style of dress that Loke had adapted. He was commonly found frowning at the developing relationship between Aquarius and Scorpio or attempting to persuade Libra to give him a chance at love._

_Loke thought that the chances were slim._

_Libra had voiced that she never wished to be tied down; that she was a gypsy of life. She had a flare for dramatics and was constantly off on some adventure or the other. Currently, she was seeking out her first owner, alongside her mentor Pisces. _

_Loke had grasped the concept of a love square early on and had made a mental note about the current one in the spirit realm. Capri was after Libra, who was vying for the affections of Sagittarius upon claims that she wanted a horse. Sagittarius was oblivious to Libra's attention and was solely focused on nabbing Virgo. Of course, to wrap it all up, Virgo was pinning after Capri._

_It got confusing very quickly when you factored in all of the silver key spirits._

_Gem and Mini, the two halves of the overarching "Gemini", were little tricksters who took it upon themselves to wreak havoc upon everyone's life. Cancer was their main target and was constantly finding himself with pranked hair or a mimicked spirit next to him in bed._

_Loke and Aries though that the pranksters had a crush upon Cancer and tried hard to not let their secret observation reach anyone else's ears. They didn't want to anger their hairdresser!_

_Harry snapped Loke back to the real world with a small "Loke?"_

_Loke jerked his neck straight and met Harry's brilliant green eyes. "You summoned me. So you have a job."_

_Harry didn't say anything to Loke, even as a smile spread across his face. The older man immediately sped off._

_"Wait up!" Loke yelped as he shot after his master. "You still need to tell me what to-"_

_Harry yanked Loke into the water. "Enjoy life! You don't have to work!"_

_"But-"_

_Loke was cut off by the large splash of his body impacting water, cool waves washing over his head. The water stung his hazel eyes and made the entire world blurry. Not like there was much to see, Loke quickly decided, but it still made him completely disoriented._

_It didn't exactly help that he didn't like water._

_He was the lion spirit, for crying out loud. Cats didn't like water! Loke didn't like water! His master must have known that correlation before yanking him-_

_The reason hit him like a freight train. Harry hadn't even meant to summon him._

_Was this some sort of indirect punishment for his haughtiness in explaining what he was?_

_Loke pawed for the surface and let out a sigh of relief as his hands met air. Harry wasn't going to go so far as if to kill him- that was always good._

_"Loke!" His master called from behind Loke. Loke cautiously turned around, still not sure how to judge Harry. Insane? Childish? Bipolar like Aquarius?_

_Yes, the water spirit was bipolar; you just had to watch one of her battles to confirm it. _

_"Yes?" Loke tentatively said as he struggled to keep afloat. The water wasn't the thing making him so nervous about the ocean- it was the monster referred to seaweed wrapping around his legs. Yes, he was the spirit embodiment of a cat, but that didn't mean that he was helpless in the ocean. Aquarius had long since beaten that tendency of 'dying in the water' out of him._

_"You're my responsibility, right?" Harry kindly shot as Loke. He noticed that the spirit was struggling in the water and swan over to help him. Loke couldn't help but be slight bit envious of Harry's graceful strokes as Harry approached._

_"Somewhat." Loke said as Harry reached him. _

_"So I'm going to be like your older brother, then." Harry said matter-of-factly._

_A wave crashed overhead, sweeping Loke out of the seaweed trap with Harry clasping his shoulders. Loke felt a feeling of slight claustrophobia wash over him as they were flung towards shore. _

_Loke's face was pointed to the shore and was about to crash into it, until Harry preformed a practiced flip and took the brunt of the landing for Loke._

_There was a moment of silence as Harry regained his breath, thoughts streaming through Loke's mind. Harry wanted to be his brother. Harry had protected him. Harry barely knew him. Harry was a bit too trusting. Harry was his king-dammed master._

_Harry already seemed like a sort of person Loke wanted as a brother. _

_Loke started to shake from his position upon Harry, childish laughs- laughs, never giggles- starting to come out of his mouth. "Of course I'll be your brother," he made out. "As long as you're mine."_

_And that's how Loke began to think of his first master. Not a master, per say, but Nakama. _


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Wait… I'm writing fanfiction…. I don't think I own it…

People? Where you gone? *puppy dog face* So many hits, so little feedback…

Anyhow, check out the poll! Currently Halo (Harry/Loke) is in the lead for the main pairing… Some of you might wonder how that will work. It might include some Master of Death-ness and immortal-ness, as well as time. Plenty of time. Harry is not raising Loke to be his boyfriend or anything of the sort. Thought I'd clear that up. J

There will be no update next week. I'm taking a couple of online college courses over the summer, whose work I have been putting off. Therefore, no update next week.

I hope you enjoy this chapter! R&R!

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"Loke?" Loke's mind fuzzily registered. "Hey Loke!"

He was on a bed. That was rather abnormal situation for him because he was a spirit. Spirits didn't exactly sleep on beds and when they did, it was more of a cloud than a decorated mattress in a frame.

"You okay?"

"Uhmgggguugghhhh…" Loke groaned as he flipped to the side. His face was buried into the hard pillow that his head was resting on and the blood flow to his arm was sufficiently cut off by his ribcage.

The bed itself was significantly softer than any other human-manufactured bed he had slept on. It formed around his body as he shifted, filling in the uncomfortable gaps of air that had been trapped underneath his side.

"Taking that as a no." Lucy said tenderly as she pulled a set over covers over Loke's shoulders. "You need to get some sleep."

Loke fought off a wave of fuzz as Lucy turned away from where he was laid down. "Why am I here?" He asked.

A spot of remembrance hit Lucy and she drew her head backwards. "I couldn't force you back into your gate. You feel unconscious and refused to wake up."

"Hm." Loke simply replied.

"You should go back to sleep." Lucy put her hands on her hips and glared at her celestial spirit.

"But I'm wasting your energy!" Loke weakly protested.

"Sleep."

_"Sleep." Harry immediately commanded Loke as Loke began to open his eyes. Loke instantly made the motion to get up, his small frame racked with shivers and coughs. Loke's futile attempts at moving utterly failed every time. "Sleep, Otouto."_

_"Why are you calling me Otouto?" Loke trembled as he asked Harry. He didn't quite have a name for the reason why he was shaking all over the place._

_Loke had once heard Capri complaining- yes, complaining- about his owner being sick. If Loke could remember correctly, the goat-man's exact words were "She keeps on shaking as if she's afraid of something!"_

_Loke had joked that she was scared of getting sicker. Now he presumed that he knew the feeling that Capri's owner had been having._

_"I wondered where the word Nakama came from. I actually heard it from 'Monie when I really think about it…. She said it was a Japanese word or something. So I used that internet thingy to search up what little brother meant in Japanese and I found out…"_

_Loke tuned himself out and wished Harry would get on with it. Loke was struggling to suppress his physical symptoms and was not managing to hide them from Harry, obvious by the elder man's caring glare. He was a Spirit and was invincible- he couldn't show weakness, even if it was towards his Nakama._

_"Anyhow, are you Japanese?" was the only thing Loke caught as Harry finished._

_"No." Loke said as a cough overtook him, turning his already weak voice into a rasp. "I'm a celestial spirit."_

_"Uh… Yes." Harry sheepishly said. "Forgot that for a bit."_

_"So what's all this…" Loke trailed off, his question interrupted by a fit of coughs. His throat was dry, he felt like a pile of- what did Scorpio call it?- dung, and he was getting somewhat tired of his pseudo brother and master. No offense to Harry, but the time was not right to test Loke's small amount of patience._

_"Wait." Harry said before ducking into a doorway. Loke hadn't noticed the entrance to a separate room yet; as a matter of fact, he didn't remember any exit to the room existing in the first place._

_He'd have to ask Harry about it later._

_There was a clatter of pots and pans before Harry emerged from the doorway, armed with a glass of water. Loke let out a small squeal of joy as he noticed the light frost on the edge of the glass which was quickly defeated by yet another coughing fit._

_Harry laughed at Loke and brought the glass over to him._

_Loke greedily grabbed the glass and poured it down his throat. A moment or two passed before he realized that he should still be mad at Harry._

_What was the reason again?_

_The sickness- or whatever he called it- was obviously making him have mood swings like Aquarius on her bleeding week. It was also altering his memory or something._

_Come to think of it, why was he on a bed?_

_"Why am I in a house?" Loke indirectly spoke his thoughts. _

_"When we got out of the water, you were going slightly crazy. I picked you up and you passed out, so I carried you to my place." Harry explained._

_Loke held out the empty glass to Harry. Harry accepted it and immediately placed it down on a mahogany table that was adjacent to the bed. _

_"Oh."_

_"You need anything? I can get you some food, ibuprofen, more water- just tell me." Harry said to Loke with a smile._

_"What's ibuprofen?" Loke asked, snuggling further underneath the thick covers. He should ask Aries if she could make something like this for him to sleep on. Lamb wool? That must be even more comfortable than the bed he was positioned on._

_"Well," Harry started, sitting on the edge of Loke's bed. "It's a medicine that lowers fe-"_

_Harry was cut off as Loke was racked with a round of coughing. Loke noticed that Harry had a small wince on his face. It took Loke a minute to realize that his master- no, older brother, he had to remember that now- was feeling empathetic towards him. Or sympathetic- Loke couldn't tell the difference._

_Harry was feeling something towards him, at the very least. _

_Loke caught his breath and managed to stop coughing. He felt weak. Spirits weren't supposed to feel weak. The Lion wasn't supposed to feel weak._

_Who was he kidding? As Harry had pointed out when Loke had been summoned for the first time, he was a kid. A kid was allowed to do whatever they desired._

_Loke gave himself a mental pat on the back to reward himself for his reasoning._

_"It lowers fevers and can help lower the pain you might feel when coughing." Harry resumed. "As an older brother, I also feel the responsibility to tell you that it can do a hell lot against hangovers."_

_Loke blinked and gave Harry a questioning look._

_"What's a hangover?" _


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: Wait… I'm writing fanfiction…. I don't think I own it…

Stupid cold… I want to sleep more. Fortunately for you guys, I hauled myself out of bed to post this. After that? Bed again. :)

Over 50 favs. Seriously people, that blows my mind. Currently this is the "best", per say, of all my stories. Thank you all for your support!

In other news, I watched Rise of the Guardians recently and started to read Naruto. Because of that, updates might be delayed a bit. Sorry about that- I'm not abandoning this story or anything- but I thought a warning might be appreciated.

Hope you enjoy!

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Loke felt like praising the Spirit King as he walked past the Fairy Tail building.

He hadn't received any flashbacks for the last ten hours- somewhat of a recent record for him.

After he had fallen asleep on his bed, Lucy had apparently been able to close his gate and fling him back into the spirit world. Spending less than a minute in the mystical realm had been more than enough to rejuvenate Loke and give him enough strength to return to the mortal realm on his own terms. The brief stay in the spirit world had also warded off the flashbacks as well.

Who knew? Loke sure didn't. If he had known in the past, he would have just fled to the spirit realm whenever he felt a memory coming on.

Shoot. That sounded like what Mage might have once said. Something like-

_"Do you know what memory sickness is Loke?" Harry suddenly said as he continued to sit at the dining room table, a ten year old Loke sitting on an opposing chair. The whole room was surrounded with glass panes, opening it up to the forest outside. Loke's eyes had been trailing a bird hopping from branch to branch out of boredom until Harry spoke._

_Loke's master- he had yet to get used to the term "Older Brother" being used towards Harry, even after three year- had been sitting in the same position for an hour now. His long pale fingers were tightly wrapped around his skull, lightly massaging his skin and moving the same black locks up and down. Grease and oils had collected on some stray strands, making Harry's hair lightly glisten in the morning light._

_Loke was beginning to be quite worried about Harry's state of mind. Really starting to worry._

_"Noooooooo?" Loke cautiously answered._

_"Bad things cause it," Harry said, his head pointing towards the westward wall, his eyes unfocused. "You remember something bad and then it tries to kill you."_

_Loke blinked at Harry. It was now confirmed; Harry was a loopy as Loke's supposed aunt, Luna._

_Loke and Luna hadn't met, but Harry had only said the best about her. Well, close to the best. Loke's older brother often remarked that although Luna was a brilliant person, she did talk about Nargles too much to be considered completely sane. _

_But then again, sanity was overrated in the spirit world. _

_Quite overrated._

_"How?" Loke carefully asked . _

_"You lose your thoughts. You lose yourself to your memories." Harry confidently said. "Then they kill you."_

_Loke nearly fell of his chair. Was Harry secretly depressed or suicidal? This wasn't normal behavior for anyone._

_Never mind, Harry was worse than Aunty Luna._

_"Okay." Loke responded, trying to keep all disrespect out of his voice. He shouldn't even think about thinking against Harry in any sort of fashion; after all, Harry was his older brother._

_"You don't understand." Harry bluntly said._

_"No." Loke honestly replied. He shifted on his chair, his chin balanced on one hand. The other was combing through the golden mess upon his head, which Harry affectionately referred to as a mane. Because the spirit was a child- more of a teen now, but still-, he often took the term as an insult and responded to Harry with a scalding retort of "yours is worse"._

_Loke was a kid- not stupid._

_Harry jumped up, as if he had been severely startled by something. "What was I talking about?" he asked Loke. "What?"_

_"Memory sickness." Loke said dully. "Death. All the cheery stuff."_

_"Shoot." Harry said. "That's not good."_

_The two sat there in silence for a while. Birds chirped in the background, providing something other than the awkward pause to focus on. Loke blanked out after twenty minutes of listening to robins- why were there robins in England at this time of year?- and barely caught his face before it gave the polished oak table some love._

_"You okay?" Harry instantly said, shocked by Loke's sudden movement._

_"Yeah." Loke panted in light shock. "Got it."_

_Loke was holding himself off the table with both arms, which were forming right angles at their respective sides. He could feel Harry's eyes on his back._

_His brother's stare wasn't uncomfortable; it was actually somewhat ticklish. Loke didn't know how that worked- a stare giving someone any sort of sensation? Yeah, right, but it somehow happened._

_Loke was experiencing a lot of somehows lately._

_Loke separated his arms from the table and was sorely tempted to let out a sigh of relief as blood rushed back into his arms. He hadn't even noticed the lack of warmth in his arms until then- maybe it was some sort of spirit thing? He had experienced it in the past- and was almost persuaded by his brain to repeat the motion._

_But that would lead to more awkward junk in the dining room. _

_Harry pulled his sight from Loke and put it towards a random spot above the spirit's head. "We should just forget about this." Harry stated. "It's weird."_

_Loke eagerly nodded. "Let's." he said. _

_Harry smiled and began to laugh. "Want to go back to sleep then? It isn't like we have anything that we need to do today."_

_Loke almost suggested that they trained, but the mere idea of sleeping in that comfortable bed Harry had happily designated as Loke's stopped him. Every time Loke curled up in with his lion toy- that was one of the only 'non-manly' aspects of his life he would confess to- it was utter peace. The quality of the time Loke spent in his bed only improved when Harry meandered from the broom-themed bed on the other side of the room to Loke's._

_The spirit almost drooled as he imagined that happening today._

_Loke didn't even bother to reply to Harry as he pushed his chair out and sprinted towards the wizard. Utilizing the weak muscles in his arms, Loke tugged Harry out of the ornate throne that Harry called a stool and sent the two of them tumbling backwards._

_"Sorry?" Loke quietly said as Harry gave him a mock glare._

_"You do know what that earns you?" Harry said menacingly. Loke just froze and tried to scramble away, only to be tackled by Harry._

_"Hey, stop!" Loke giggled as Harry tickled the front side of Loke's neck. "Come on!"_

_"NO MERCY FOR THE WEAK!" Harry roared and moved on to Loke's inner knee. _

_"Stop!"_

_"Never!"_

_Laughter and cheer radiated from the kitchen as the clock lightly ticked in the background. It was all perfect, Loke later thought. _

_Always perfect with his brother, Harr-_

Loke threw himself to the side of the main road as a car beeped at him, snapping him out of his robotic trance. He crashed into a stack of barrels and broke them, spilling beer over the ground. Someone yelled at him as he groaned and rolled over to face the sky.

Lucy's worried face materialized above Loke as he mentally filtered out the multiple profanities being thrown at him by bystanders. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I'm fine." Loke said.

A car had almost crashed into him. He was constantly zoning out. He was probably insane.

Loke really wasn't fine.

Not fine at all.

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Plot progression! Sorta! :)

Please review! Reviews earn a virtual Loke stuffy!


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: Wait… I'm writing fanfiction…. I don't think I own it…

A/N at the bottom

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Loke sat at a table in the outskirts of the Fairy Tail building, biting the back of his hand. Lucy had just scolded him for the better part of an hour for being "so damn stupid that you can't see where you're going" and "wasting my time saving you".

Loke was really starting to hate cars, if he didn't already. He'd never owned one and whenever he used them, they drained his magic within half an hour. The car didn't even go that fast and the drives were always rickety, due to his inability to control a motorized vehicle.

Mirajane walked up to Loke, a glass of frothy beer in her hand. "Here you go!" she chirped. "Your order!"

No one should be that cheery at five in the morning, Loke decided as Mira slid the mug across the table, a smile plastered on her face. Loke had always chalked it up to caffeine, but Cana had devoured both the stock of coffee and alcohol last night at an especially heated party.

Loke had always hated coffee. He didn't understand why any living being would purposely hype themselves up with a drug while getting themselves addicted to it. It seemed like a stupid way to be stuck into the downward spiral of wanting more and more.

Besides that, there was a reason Mage had never let him have coffee as a kid.

_"What's that?" Loke curiously asked Harry. His older brother was sitting in the main room, nursing a cup of brown liquid. Twelve-year-old Loke had just completed another day of strenuous training with Harry and upon arrival at home, his zombie-like mas- brother. Still brother- had dug a weird machine out of the closet._

_Even though Harry had started to educate Loke on machinery of the 'muggle', or non-magical, world, Loke hadn't learned everything there was to know yet. The wonderful things that played videos, also called computers, had just been added to Loke's small world two weeks ago on what Harry had dubbed Loke's birthday. July 26__th__, for the record._

_Loke had quickly decided that the computer should be some sort of celestial spirits with insane, omniscient powers. Harry, however, had stopped Loke's conquest to actually turn the family computer monitor into a constellation, then a spirit, even if it would help with Loke's training._

_Harry set the blue mug in his hands. "Coffee." Harry simply replied to Loke._

_"Is it like ibuprofen?" Loke tilted his head to the side. _

_One of Loke's first observations of Harry is that most unusual substances that the wizard-mage consumed cured hangovers, or at least were claimed to. Not like Loke had ever gotten drunk, or even had a sip of wine. Physically a child, mentally a bit older… Not exactly the recipe for a drinker._

_"Ask Ron. He makes it out to be, but I haven't ever tried it as one. I heard that more wine is good after a hangover- or was that beer?- as well as a good book. Mind you, I haven't eaten a book yet, but Luna has. She says it wards off Nargles as well. Neville likes a good read for a hangover though. I always found that a bit counterintuitive, trying to ward off the inability to read with a book, but it is Luna's husband that we're talking about."_

_Loke froze and turned towards Harry. "Is it also supposed to cause hyper activeness?" Loke carefully asked. _

_"Books? No. Well, not unless you get to a really exciting part. Then you jump up and down in your seat and you can't control yourself and you accidently cast a spell on your bed that makes it all bouncy. Wingdum Bouncinousios or something? I seriously don't know… Your Uncle Draco would know though. He's all wrapped up in that spell junk all the time- when he's not pampering his girlfriend… Isn't Ginny dating him right now? I know that her brothers are all wrapped up, even Charlie. He picked up that strategy girl, whose name I can't remember for the life of me. Marvis? Malvis? She is a bit young though and Char-Char did say he was going to break up with her soon. Something about one of rare seven dragons taking care of a human kid. When I really think about it, he mentioned five kids… Or was it four?" Harry blathered on._

_"Does coffee cause," Loke rephrased before motioning to Harry. "This?"_

_Harry enthusiastically nodded. "Yes! It does! That's why I never drink it and I always have that spell thingy ready. 'Mione says that I'm scary after a good cup, or even a bad one. I think that's why Mrs. Weasley never invites me to tea with the twins anymore-" Loke didn't even have enough time to blink as Harry sobered up and turned his attention to the window. _

_"Who?" Loke innocently asked._

_Loke had rarely seen his brother in such a state. There was the time where Harry had said Dobby's name and the first time he had mentioned 'Good ol' Dumbles', but that was it. _

_So, if Loke was to keep count, there were two times prior to this in the four mortal years Loke had known Harry where the elder had slipped into depression. Real depression, not the façade Harry put on when Loke gave his brother a scathing retort or remark._

_"Never invites me to tea with the twins anymore…" Harry's voice quieted as he avoided Loke's question. "Tea with the twins."_

_"Want to talk about it?" Harry met Loke's eyes, giving his spirit a small, almost reluctant, nod._

_"They were pranksters," Harry started with a light shrug. "And damn good friends, if you were to ask me. They started a joke shop. It flourished and was most people's favorite place in Diagon Alley, with its massive selection of gags and the WWW sign."_

_Loke lowered his head and shook it, urging Harry to go on. _

_"Fred died in the war." Harry lost all semblance of focus, his eyes looking in different directions. "He just died."_

Coffee, not death, coffee, not death, Loke mentally chanted, halting the memory in its tracks. Why, _why_, did he have these flashbacks? It made no sense, had no reason.

"Are you okay there, Loke?" Mira snapped Loke out of his thoughts. "You've been staring into space for a couple of minutes. Haven't taken a sip of your beer or anything."

"Just remembering." Loke carefully said.

"What?" Loke gave Mira a sad look before focusing all his attention on his mug.

"Stuff that I shouldn't be."

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A/N: Wait for it… Wait for it…

EEEEEEEEKKKK! It astounds me that 90 people are willing to read a new chapter of this story every week. That just blows my mind. Screw that, blows my mind more. It was already dead from praise at this point. Luckily for you guys, dead brain=chapters. So you should kill my mind. *nods*

This story has plot next chapter. Plot! I repeat, plot! I'm starting to move from the happy childhood to the teenage years in Loke's flashbacks. Because of this and other reasons, this story might become T. Not because of sexual items, but because of swearing. Noting that, f you have any suggestions for ideas for flashbacks and chapters, please leave them in a review!

In other news, the old poll on my profile has made way for round two of pairing votes. I eliminated the lower-ranking choices and added another option: No pairings. No pairings does not eliminate all romance from the story, it just means that Loke and Harry will probably end up as bachelors, as well as many other characters.

Please Review! Reviews cause Harry to come back quicker!

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	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: Wait… I'm writing fanfiction…. I don't think I own it…

A/N at the bottom

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"Hey Loke," Mira said from the bar. "I set up an appointment with a friend of mine."

"WHAT?" Loke almost screeched, leaping up from his seat at a nearby table. His beer fell to the floor and splattered every which way, drenching both his and Natsu's pants.

"Mind it, Furball!" Natsu yelled at Loke, the fire mage's hands igniting in flames.

"COOL IT!" Erza shot from the other end of the guild, putting a stop to what could have become one of Natsu's legendary rampages.

"You've been out of it for the last week. Hell, Lucy said you almost got run over! You've almost drowned, you haven't been paying attention, you've been blanking out at the most random moments- Loke, it's gone too far!" Mira resumed.

"I'm not going to a shrink, if that's who you want me to meet!" Loke retaliated.

"I can introduce her to you, if you really want. You need to sort this out though."

Loke blinked once or twice before-

_"Look, Loke, I have someone to introduce to you." Harry said to his younger brother as they slipped into their respective beds. Even though Loke was a sixteen year old, they still shared a room. It had become more of a dorm mate thing than the 'I require you to have comfort' reason that Loke presented to Harry as a kid._

_Harry had taken one night of nightmares and fears and had moved into Loke's room just like that._

_"Let me sleep…" Loke groaned, yanking his lion themed-covers over his head. A worn-down stuffed lion rested underneath the blanket with him, its yellow-gray mane slightly peeking out from underneath the covers._

_Harry shrugged and fluffed out his pillow. It was a nightly ritual that the wizard did; a small sliver of consistency. It wasn't like life with the two didn't have some sense of normality; it was just that Harry was a person who needed something- and someone- to always be able to rely on, no matter what happened._

_Loke had only noticed that about Harry in the last couple of years. It might have been the way Harry seemed to clench onto Loke when they went into any type of battle field, or how Harry seemed obsessive compulsive about the smallest things. The pillow was one, but Harry also had a certain way he woke up, a simple routine of covers being folded over, Harry sitting up, rolling out of bed, and then folding his covers back over. In the end, Harry's bed ended up being a perfect quiditch-themed resting place._

_No matter how hard Loke tried, he couldn't get his bed to the state Harry's was always in._

_"She's coming over tomorrow." Harry said as he put his head down._

_"WHAT?" Loke almost screeched. He rolled out of bed in shock, knocking his stuffed toy to the ground. "A GIRL! COMING OVER TO OUR PLACE?"_

_Harry turned towards the opposing wall and let out a long stream of fake snores, trying to throw off Loke's question. _

_Loke gave Harry a glare from the floor, lightly picking up Minor- as Loke's stuffed lion was named- and gently placing it back on the under sheets above. _

_"Girlfriend." Harry's muffled reply barely reached Loke's ears. "She's my girlfriend."_

_"So when you say you have some crazy junk to take care of, you've been going out on dates or something?" Loke asked incredulously._

_The "crazy junk" that Loke was referring to was the abrupt breaks that Harry had been deciding to take during training. They'd be in mid-air, ready to fire another round of magic at each other, and Harry would suddenly glance at the clock. With a quick "Goodbye", Harry would teleport away and Loke would be left wondering about what the hell had just happened._

_"Yes," Harry reluctantly replied. "But Charlie introduced me to her!"_

_"You're going out with Mavis?" Loke automatically assumed._

_"No! I mean… Maybe." Harry scrunched closer to the wall._

_"You're screwed when Charlie finds out," Loke said matter-of-factly. "He's going to slowly kill you when he finds out that you're with his girlfriend."_

_"They had a clean break off two months ago." Harry mumbled. "They both agreed that they weren't right for each other and went their separate ways."_

_"So that means you can snatch her right up?" Loke exclaimed as he stood up. "You're disgusting."_

_Loke hadn't had much experience with relationships up to this point, but he had heard some very strong opinions from Capri on the subject. Capri had repeated it over and over- one should at least wait four months after a breakup before entering a new relationship, one should make sure another is right for them, one should be considerate of their other; the list went on and on. _

_Capri had also prepared Loke to deal with people who disobeyed these rules, even if said person had never heard of them before._

_"Hey!" Harry said as he flipped over to face Loke. "She wanted it!"_

_"So you guys have had sex already?" Loke asked. He had set himself back down on his bed, Minor in hand._

_"No! Why would you think that?"_

_"You said that she 'wanted it'!"_

_"I was referring to our relationship, dumb lion!"_

_The two brothers had always got along together, unless they were drawn into one of their rare arguments. Loke was somewhat relieved that, even in these arguments, there were boundaries. No fists were number one, no magic was number two, and no swearing was number three._

_Loke had contemplated breaking rule number three lately. He wasn't sure why, but after speaking with Harry, they had both assumed that it was because it was the age and stage Loke was in._

_It might have also been because Ron constantly swore over the phone, but neither mentioned that in their discussion._

_"Well, I'm sorry that Taurus is a perv and talks like that all the time!"_

_"HE DOES WHAT?" Loke could see the frustration and tension in the room was getting to Harry. Provided, Loke hadn't told Harry about his Nakama's distorted view on things- mainly sex, but they could talk about that later- but really? That wasn't relevant right now. At the moment, they were sorting out the whole "You stole Charlie's girlfriend" thing._

_"I didn't say anything?" Loke squeaked, suddenly very thankful for the fifteen feet of black and gold rug between him and Harry._

_"HE TALKS LIKE THAT ALL THE TIME? WHY THE FU-" Harry trailed off and the room fell silent. "I'm sorry," Harry tenderly said. "I didn't mean…"_

_Loke didn't say anything and just tugged his covers back over his shoulders, gazing at the green wall next to his bed. Tears collected in the corners of his eyes as he thought over what him and Harry had just been talking- talking wasn't the right word for it, more like quietly screaming- about._

Was it his fault? Should he have acted differently? Could they have avoided this?_ Loke's mind raced, water collecting on the bedspread beneath him. He hugged Minor tightly, massaging one of the lion's worn black eyes with his thumb. _

_Loke's face was nearly glued to his pillow as he drifted off, dreading tomorrow. _

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So…. Loke's older, Harry's got a girlfriend, I've decided that the pairing will turn out to be HaLo, we get to meet Mavis next chapter, Loke and Harry have their first big fight, Loke feels injured… You get the idea. ^^

For all who do not like the Harry/Mavis pairing: THIS PAIRING WILL NOT BE THE MAIN ONE IN THE STORY. For those who do: I hope you enjoy what I do with it as it lasts! :)

Now, so I'm not killed off because of this, I'm unable to update for the next two weeks. I won't have enough time to write, so I'd rather not whip out 500-word chapters and post those. My chapters are short enough already, and I recognize that!

With that, please review! What do you think will happen between Loke, Harry, and Mavis?


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: Don't own anything but the semblance of a plot in this story.

I bring grim news to all who read and enjoy this story. Hush Little Child is going on a hiatus. Reasons? If you really want to know, PM me and I'll give you them. Otherwise, you are spared from the excuses.

There is one more chapter which doesn't fit into the story so far, but tells where the Malfoys are in the grand scheme of things. I hope you guys stay around to read that!

With all the randomness, please enjoy this chapter. :)

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_"To our relationship!" Harry joked, clinking glasses with Mavis. Loke lazily held up his water-filled glass, lightly sulking._

_They were in the dining room; a marvelous hall that would awe a king. Loke had only been able to comprehend how the giant thing was in their home when Harry had explained the basics of Wizarding storage. It consisted around forming a pocket dimension supported by magic, then building or storing in that pocket dimension. Such a place could be as large or as small as the user wanted; it all depended on how much magic they poured into creating it._

_Loke had just stared blankly at Harry when his brother explained it to him the first time, meriting a lesson on dimensions and their uses._

_Mavis smiled at Loke, holding out her wine glass out after taking a small sip. "So, your name is Loke?"_

_"Yes." Loke said. Harry glared at Loke from the other side of the table, using his free hand to motion for Loke to go on. Loke quickly returned the glare before turning his attention back to Mavis. "Harry gave it to me."_

_The intruder- because that's all Loke would think of Mavis as- in his home was only four feet tall and had ridiculously long blonde hair. It didn't help that her visit had only been announced to him the day before, or that she was Charlie's old girlfriend._

_'Clean breakoff, my ass,' Loke thought, a small smile spreading across his face as he continued to keep up his charade of a happy younger brother. Inside, he was cursing the world and its sense of humor. 'Four years of dating cannot merit a clean breakoff.'_

_"So you're his adoptive brother?" the ever-cherry girl asked._

_'Well, I wonder if he has blonde hair as well. I think that would tell you everything you need to know.' Loke thought, limiting his verbal response to a simple "yes"._

_Harry just sat up straight in his seat. Loke knew that he wasn't going to get involved in a fight between Mavis and Loke, no matter how oblivious the first was to the situation._

_"Oh! What age did you adopt him at, Harry? He must have been young- you guys have such a great bond! Almost like a celestial spirit and their owner!" Mavis said, taking another bite of the roast beef on her plate. _

_Loke caught Harry wincing from the corner of his eye. 'You didn't tell her?' Loke mouthed angrily. _

_Harry cringed at Loke's expression. 'No,' he mouthed back. 'It didn't seem important when I told her about you.'_

_'So the fact that I'm your adoptive brother and a celestial spirit just slips your mind.'_

_'Kinda?'_

_'Miss Stolen Girlfriend is now more important than me. I'm severely injured.'_

_'You should be.'_

_Mavis innocently looked up from her meal to see both Harry and Loke frantically motioning to each other. "Are you two okay?" she asked. _

_"Yes," Harry quickly replied before Mavis could come to her own conclusion. "It's just that-"_

_"Harry forgot to mention that I'm a celestial spirit," Loke intervened, "he thought that it wasn't important."_

_Mavis giggled. "That explains a lot of things, like your bantering with Harry and the fact that your magics have completely different feels."_

_Loke took another bite of his meat as Harry questioned Mavis about the 'feel' of magic. He focused more attention on his meal than Mavis's explanation, but he still caught something about sticks and wands being the exact same thing._

_Loke's pride and his partial innocence demanded that he shouldn't inquire about it._

_The rest of dinner was filled with Mavis and Harry's meaningless chatter and Loke being anti-social. As Harry excused himself from the table to begin picking up dishes, Loke and Mavis found themselves awkwardly siting at the large table together._

_"So, is there anything you really like to do?" Mavis tentatively asked._

_"I like to sleep." Loke tried to reply with a straight face. He was going to have fun with Mavis's mind._

_"Oh! So you're a lazy boy." Mavis said. "Do you enjoy eating as well?"_

_Loke almost face planted. Mavis was obviously naïve; he had come to that conclusion a long time ago. But to this degree? He hadn't been expecting that at all._

_"Hey Loke, can you come over here and help me?" Harry said as he peeked into the hallway. "The dishes have taken over both the dishwasher and the sink."_

_Loke thanked whatever god had granted him the opportunity to get away from Harry's love interest. He gave Mavis a faked apologetic expression. "Harry's a mess; he left them to pile up for the last couple of days."_

_Mavis gave Loke an understanding nod. "He always does it with the plastic wrap during picnics."_

_Loke gave Mavis a small wave and dodged out of the room, letting out a sigh of relief as Harry came into view. "Save me from your idiot of a girlfriend." Loke mock-pleaded. "She's unable to see when she's not wanted."_

_Harry threw the dishtowel in his hands to Loke. "Don't attack her for it. It's the way she is." _

_"Blonde and ditzy?" Loke retorted, giving his view on Mavis. "Nice choice in girls, Mage."_

_"You did not just go there." Harry said as he handed another dish to Loke to dry._

_"Guess what? I did. She's the worst choice you could have ever made and you know it." Loke forcefully dried the gold-edged plate with the ragged cloth in his hands._

_"Are you jealous of her? Or me?" _

_Loke set one dish in the cabinet above, pausing for a moment. We he jealous?_

_'You like one of them,' his mind taunted. 'Otherwise you wouldn't be feeling so… uncomfortable around them.'_

_He always felt... right around Harry. So maybe he liked Mavis? He had no experience in the mysterious field of love; how was he supposed to know?_

_"No." Loke harshly replied to Harry as he accepted a cup to dry, denying his inner thoughts. _

_"I'll trust you on that. Try to be a nice human being to Mavis for the rest of the night, okay?" Harry gave Loke a grin._

_"I might give it a try." Loke said, suppressing the confusing feelings swirling inside (love, annoyance, hate, denial) and returning the cocky expression._

_"Come on, Loke…" Harry instantly sobered and pleaded._

_"I'm your brother! I'm supposed to give you a hard time about girls and junk!" Loke argued, flicking his dishtowel at Harry._

_"Where did you read that?" _

_"One of your books." Loke confidently replied._

_"YOU READ THE BOOK ON MY NIGHTSTAND?" Harry yelled._

_"… Maybe?" Loke winced. He hadn't been expecting that as an answer, but he should have learned better by now. If there was something to get even the slightest bit mad about, Harry would often intensify the situation in his head._

_"I'm going to kill you someday." Harry mock threatened._

_"You love me too much, Harry." Loke said, plastering that cocky grin back onto his face._

_"I do. I really do love you."_

_As they exited the kitchen, Loke felt a warm feeling rise in his chest. He really liked it._

_And he didn't know why._


	9. Chapter 9- A Tribute to Malfoys and Loke

Disclaimer: Don't own anything but the semblance of a plot in this story.

Yes, I'm still on hiatus. Luckily for all of you guys, this chapter was almost done when I announced it, so you get some Malfoyness.

In other news, be on the lookout for Naruto oneshots from me if you enjoy the fandom. Actually, look for random oneshots from random fandoms. School is starting soon, and I'm not sure when any of said oneshots will be up, but they will come…. And conquer the word…

Thank you to all who have favorited, followed, reviewed, read, loved, hated, cared, disliked… You're the reason I'm still lurking in the shadows of Fanfiction.

This chapter is randomly dedicated to 1-9 tail kyyubi, who's kept my spirits up and has been a great friend. Thank you.

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Loke sucked on his upper lip as he looked up at the large building in front of him. "Counseling," it simply read in a large red font.

"Note to self," Loke muttered. "Never prove Mirajane right by drifting off while she's trying to lecture you."

He glared at the bright letters for a couple of minutes, the loose skin on his lips coming off into his mouth with the help of his teeth. Loke didn't want to be wasting his time going to a shrink; he wanted to be figuring out the last couple of weeks by himself.

Loke never really liked talking things out with others anyway.

"No," he whispered to himself as he closed his eyes. "No flashback."

Loke managed to stave off the memory he knew would come. He let out a deep breath and approached the building in front of him.

As he neared the counseling building, more details came into focus. He could see counseling session through the glossy windows of the second floor. As he scanned over said windows, he noticed a black haired man, animatedly chatting to another person. The black-haired man turned towards the window for the briefest moment, giving Loke a flash of green eyes and pale skin.

Loke blinked.

He was seeing things, wasn't he? Harry was long past dead and Loke had no business making Harry imposters appear in a counseling building, of all places. It might make sense if he was in a bar and had gotten plastered, but in real life? Now?

And based upon past experiences with the sheer amount of alcohol that it took to get Loke tipsy, let alone drunk…. the bar theory didn't live up. Loke wouldn't see Harry then, anyway.

Loke tore his eyes away from the second floor and focused them on the ornate door in front of him, which sealed the building. It probably also kept the crazies in, Loke reflected.

He quickly amended that thought as he realized that he would be viewed as a person in need of counseling as soon as he stepped inside the building.

Loke bit his lip again and used one hand to push open the door to the building. A small set of bells jangled overhead as he entered the entrance hall, his eyes immediately attracted to the blonde boy sitting lazily at the counter.

"You have an appointment?" The boy slowly asked Loke, as if the celestial spirit was someone who was mentally impaired.

"Um… Yeah. With a woman named Sake?" Loke said.

"Oh. You mean Miss Drunk. She'll be with you in half an hour or so."

Loke cursed this boy and his stupidity. He also felt the sudden urge to violently kill someone, preferably this 'Sake' and the blonde.

"You're the spirit thing from Fairy Tail, right?"

"I'm a spirit, yes."

"I could never tell if you were a boy or a girl. Wait- don't tell me- you're a girl! Your hair is much too long to be a boy!"

Loke closed his eyes and kept himself from letting the boy see a Regulus blast up close.

"And you're here because you need to be tamed! You are a lion, right?" Loke opened his mouth to reply, but the boy cut him back off. "So the little girl lion needs to be made into an obedient little cat for her master. I wonder what the master will do with the nice kitty?"

"By any chance, is your last name Malfoy?" Loke sarcastically asked, his temper snapping. "Because you act just like the spoiled brat they're made out to be."

The blonde froze.

"You are a Malfoy." Loke blanched. "Nice."

"Don't tarnish the name!" The blonde shot back as he resumed movement. "Malfoys helped win the Second Wizarding War, after all. Not like you'd know anything about that."

"Mr. Draco Malfoy didn't help at all. He just cowered in a corner for most of the battle." Loke retorted, seeking out someplace to sit down. The argument should last another hour if it went like this, he thought. Shame that they only had half an hour.

"My grandfather was in the fray, shooting spells with the best of them! He was fighting alongside Harry Potter, for goodness's sake!"

"Un-" Loke started, before catching himself. "Draco doesn't deserve a grandson like you who assumes everything! He was more important in a different war; just because Harry wasn't in it doesn't mean anything!"

"So now you're on a first name basis, Mr. Spirit-who-knows-all?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact, we are. Have been for the better part of sixty-four years."

"Then why the hell haven't I seen you before?"

'Because I couldn't handle Harry's death, that's why!' Loke thought. 'Because the world fell down and I wasn't sure how to build it back up!'

"Because Draco's a jerk." Loke said out loud.

"Go and insult my ancestors now, won't you?" The Malfoy asked. "Gramps is a jerk. Next thing you know, you'll be calling Dad a backstabber!"

"Who's your dad?"

"Scorpius Malfoy, son of Draco Malfoy. You know about the rest of the family, but not me? I'm hurt."

"Your mom?"

"Lilly Weasley. Who else? The moon?"

"Yes, the moon." Loke rolled his eyes, attempting not to laugh. The great and prideful Malfoys, marrying into the Weasley family- this was pure gold. Shame that he wasn't at the wedding. Shame that he didn't exactly socialize with the Wizarding World anymore.

Shame that Harry was dead.

'Happy thoughts', Loke told himself. 'Think happy thoughts'.

"How the hell would the moon have a kid? And magic does not suffice as an answer."

"Well, the moon obviously brought some kid back from the dead and gave them the magical powers of sarcasm. You're so good at it, by the way."

"I feel the beginning of a beautiful friendship." The Malfoy held out his hand. "The wonderful man-thingy in front of me matches my- and I'll quote you on this- 'magical powers of sarcasm'."

Loke gave the blonde a smirk and met the pale hand with his own. "Loke. Not man-thingy. That makes me feel… violated."

"Leo." The now identified Malfoy replied with a shake. "Like the constellation. It's a tradition for the males in the family to be named after stars. I always wondered why…"

Loke's grin widened and he gave Leo a genuine laugh. "Because you guys worship the very ground us celestial spirits walk upon."

"Untrue!"

"Can't hear you~" Loke sang back at his new friend.

"Come on, you idiotic spirit…"


End file.
